


A Soft Farewell

by BlondDragon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Force Healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23128357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlondDragon/pseuds/BlondDragon
Summary: Ben gives everything he has to save Rey.--- A little expansion of their final scene in the novelisation because they deserved more than ~230 words together.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	A Soft Farewell

* * *

Ben felt her death over halfway through the climb. Everything in his body ached, yet nothing could compare to the loss of Rey. A supernova, his sun exploding brighter than the galaxy itself. Gone in an instant. He couldn’t feel Rey at all. Ben desired so selfishly in that moment to let himself fall back into the abyss. Nothing would be worth it without Rey by his side.

He had to reach her. He couldn’t leave her alone now. The climb was all there was until he could get back to her. One last time.

Alone in the Force, Ben dragged himself from the pit, stumbling and weak, towards her. The brightness Ben recognised as uniquely Rey was nowhere to be found. Nothing else mattered to him as he cradled her limp form. The pain from his fall and subsequent climb had faded in the wake of reaching her dead body. His only focus was Rey.

Ben knew instinctively what he had to do. After all, Rey had shown him how. He would give anything, _everything_ , just to hold her in his arms. Both of them alive and together, if only for a moment.

His hand came to rest over her stomach. Still, there was nothing in the Force to aid him. To help him in this selfless act. No whisper of guidance. No reassurance from those beyond. Ben knew abandonment, knew that this was no different. Rey was all he had, his _soulmate_. They were a dyad in the force and he could be the only one to give her the life she deserved. He would not abandon her; now, when she needed him more than ever.

He closed his eyes and focused inwards, delving into the deep of his own Force. _There_. It was just a flicker, a tiny, glimmering echo of _something_ in the force. _Rey_.

Ben let out a small breath of relief that she was still there, with him. What came next was both painful and beautiful, the most difficult manipulation of the force Ben had ever attempted, but he wouldn’t stop. Not until he saved her.

Ben focused on Rey’s presence in the Force through their bond, a fragile fluttering that began inside him and flowed outwards. And then he poured himself through that celestial connection.

The flicker grew larger and larger. Where there was darkness, now there was light. Ben could feel himself waning but still he pushed on.

The galaxy held its breath.

The Force quivered.

And Ben could feel it, the moment the air around him filled with new life. _Life and death._ His death.

Beneath his hand, Rey’s body shifted as she drew in a breath. Suddenly, her hand covered his own. Warm and alive. Her fingers softly stroked at his skin. Ben’s eyes flew open, immediately seeking hers.

He watched in awe as Rey abruptly sat up, as though she had not been dead and gone seconds before. His hand steadied her, finding purchase at the back of her neck – soft and slim beneath the expanse of his hand. He expected her to pull away from him completely but she merely readjusted herself against him. Closer than ever before, closer than that sacred night they hand first touched through the bond.

“Ben.”

The smile that accompanied the whisper of his name was wondrous. Their bond shivered with an onslaught of emotions. Rey was _glad_ to be with him. Ben could scarcely believe it. How glorious it was to finally, _finally_ , feel her delight directed towards him. Caused by him. There was nothing, Ben thought, that she could give him that would mean more. How wrong he was.

Her fingers traced along his face, carefully, as though he were something precious.

“You _are._ ”

She had slipped into his mind and read his thoughts without him knowing.

Ben could feel the conviction behind her words, even though he could barely bring himself to believe them.

“You came for me.”

Rey’s fingers wove lightly into his hair, tracing the shell of his ear and he supressed a shiver at her touch. A gentleness he had craved and been denied for so many years of his life. Until her. It was a gentleness he knew would be gone all too soon. In mere heartbeats, he would never know her touch again. He shielded this thought from her. Desperate to keep the moment between them free from any lingering darkness.

For now, anything she gave him would be enough.

“Of course, Rey,” he replied, and impossibly, her smile grew wider. “I love you.”

She inhaled unsteadily, then whispered, so softly he had to strain to hear, “I love you too, Ben. So much.”

Rey drew back momentarily. He could feel her hand moving down his face. His failing heart skipped in fear and he unconsciously tightened his grip on her neck. Afraid to let her go just yet.

Through their connection he could feel her nervousness. Her anticipation. Ben was momentarily confused and then he _saw._ Watched as her eyes dipped, for a millisecond, down to his lips and back up to meet his eyes.

He sensed her question through the bond: could she? And yes, she could.

_Please, Rey_.

Her feelings were eclipsed by his longing for her lips against his own. The delicate press of a mouth that had once voiced her rage, her fear, and now – her love.

Ben sensed her resolve and determination a mere moment before she surged forward and pressed her lips to his. His right arm immediately drew around her, his left hand slowly massaging at her neck.

Hesitantly, his tongue reached out to glide along the seam of her lips. Rey’s mouth parted and tentatively her tongue caressed his own. It was, to them, raw and indecent – a kiss unable to satisfy their hunger for each other.

And, _oh_ , this kiss was everything. He could feel her joy, her relief, her own longing, flowing through the bond. Rey’s happiness wrapped around him, and for a moment he had beautiful hope for the future. It was her hope, he realised as she pulled back. That beautiful, wondrous smile was on her face again. His own smile blossomed in response.

Ben let out a tiny laugh of disbelief. He never thought he would feel this love and be loved in return. But there it was, twining gently throughout their bond. So much hope in that kiss. Their first kiss in what should have been a lifetime filled with countless kisses, scattered throughout the galaxy like the stars. It was their first kiss. And their last.

Ben’s smile faded and he could feel himself leaving her. He didn’t want to go. Rey’s confusion and fear pulsed through the bond. Painful and everywhere.

_I don’t want to leave you._ He thought. _Not now, when we can finally be together_. His eyes slipped closed, his hand fell from the nape of her neck. Rey couldn’t speak but her thoughts seared into him, frantic and desperate.

_Ben!_

_Please._

_Don’t leave me. Don’t go._

Ben was falling. Into darkness. Into death. Beyond time and space and thought. Falling into the Force.

He was aware of his bond with Rey twinkling gently out of existence, like stars chased away by the oncoming dawn. _It’s always been you, Rey_. One last thought of love to her.

His final awareness was of Rey, clasping his hand with her own.

_I’ll come back for you sweetheart._

_I promise._


End file.
